1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a dispensing apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
A dispensing apparatus configured to discharge liquid from a nozzle using a syringe, etc., has been used for various purposes.
For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 2009-291103 discloses an automatic cell culture apparatus including a dispensing apparatus (pipette device) to be used in a pipetting operation applied to a dish (or culture container).
Here, for example, when a cell is cultivated in a dish or a cell is passaged, operations are performed such as an operation of replacing a medium in a dish with a new medium, an operation of recovering a medium from a dish after cell cultivation is finished, an operation of recovering cell, an operation of isolating cells and an operation of adjusting a colony to a predetermined size. When these operations are performed, such considerations are required that an old culture media, reagent, and cell suspension are efficiently recovered as well as a new medium and reagent are promptly spread over an entire cell culture surface.
However, for instance, as illustrated in FIG. 11, in related dispensing apparatuses, peripheral portions in an inner bottom surface of a dish include areas on which liquid discharged from a nozzle of a syringe is unable to be poured directly. Therefore, there is such a problem that cells remains in areas on which discharged liquid cannot be poured directly. There is also another problem that cells such as a lightly attached cell, which is nearly detached by detachment solution such as trypsin, and a cell, which is deposited on and adhered to a bottom surface of a dish, cannot be recovered without directly pouring liquid to the cells for a predetermined period of time with a predetermined flow rate.
When liquid is discharged from a nozzle by tilting a dish as illustrated in FIG. 11A, since the nozzle of a syringe is directed in a vertical direction and the nozzle therefore interferes with a side surface of the tilted dish, liquid discharged from the nozzle cannot be directly poured to an area in the vicinity of the uppermost part (area illustrated as R1) out of an area of circumference of an inner bottom surface of a dish. Further, since liquid discharged from the nozzle is promptly accumulated in an area in the vicinity of the lowermost part (area illustrated as R2) out of an area of circumference of an inner bottom surface of a dish, it is also impossible to directly pour liquid discharged from a nozzle onto the area.
Furthermore, when liquid is discharged from a nozzle by tilting a dish as illustrated in FIG. 11B, since the nozzle of a syringe is directed in a vertical direction and the nozzle therefore interferes with a side surface of the dish, as in the case of the area R1, it is impossible to directly pour liquid discharged from a nozzle to areas in the vicinity of the areas intermediate between the uppermost part and the lowermost part (areas illustrated as R3 and R4) out of an area of circumference of an inner bottom surface of the dish.